Chesapeake Energy Corporation Reports 2019 Full Year And Fourth Quarter Financial And Operational Results And Releases 2020 Guidance

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[{"type":"text","content":"OKLAHOMA CITY, Feb. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) today reported financial and operational results for the 2019 full year and fourth quarter and released its annual guidance. Highlights from Chesapeake's projected 2020 program include:\n\n \n \n\n \nTargeting Free Cash Flow Reducing Capital Expenditure Budget by Approximately 30%, Maintaining Relatively Flat Oil Production and Decreasing Gas Production Year Over Year Lowering Projected Production and General and Administrative (G&A) Expenses by Over 10% Year Over Year Continuing to Recognize Capital Efficiency Improvements Across All Basins Funding 2020 Maturities and Enhancing Liquidity Through $300 to $500 Million in Expected Non-Core Asset SalesDoug Lawler, Chesapeake's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, \"We are pleased to highlight our strong 2019 operational performance, delivering fourth quarter oil production of 126,000 barrels (bbls) of oil per day and increasing our oil mix to 26% of total production, the highest percentage in company history. These results, combined with certain lower cash costs, yielded adjusted EBITDAX growth of 19%, or 15% per barrel of oil equivalent (boe), compared to the 2018 fourth quarter, when we had significantly higher commodity prices. Our focus on shifting our portfolio composition and capital allocation to more oil and our commitment to cost leadership are resulting in improved financial performance, even at lower prices. We also made additional progress improving our balance sheet during the quarter, eliminating approximately $900 million in debt through capital markets transactions, and consolidating our $1.5 billion Brazos Valley unrestricted subsidiary.\n\"Our performance in 2019 positions us to target free cash flow in 2020. We plan to allocate approximately 80% of our projected 2020 capital expenditure program of $1.3 to $1.6 billion to our highest-margin oil opportunities. We expect oil production will remain relatively flat year over year, while total production is projected to decrease as gas volumes decline. In addition to cutting our 2020 capital program by approximately 30% compared to 2019, we expect to further improve our cost structure by reducing production and G&A expenses by over 10% year over year. We also plan to further enhance our liquidity by funding our 2020 matur...

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